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Did you know the Green Alliance has a Green Jobs Board? We post information about job openings within our business partner community. Open the door to your green career today.

GA business partner, the Green Cocoon is seeking full-time installers in Salisbury, MA. The company offers Soy-based spray foam insulation, blown-in cellulose, and fiberglass insulation in residential and commercial applications. This small business was founded seven years ago but has been growing steadily year after year and is looking for dedicated individuals who are willing to play an active role in the company.

The position promises hard and dirty work but also offers room for growth and advancement within the company. Applicants should be honest, respectful, hard-working people who are willing to learn new things. A valid driver’s license is required and a DOT Card is preferable. To read more about this position, visit our Green Jobs Board.

Green Alliance members -- use your card to get 25% off design fees on a Little Green Homes design-build contract. Save even more on your home improvement plans by using other Green Alliance business partners.

As December’s record-setting blizzard reached maximum impact in cities and towns throughout the Northeast, down on the Seacoast of New Hampshire and Maine, Simply Green drivers remained on task, ensuring that heating fuel got to the people who needed it.

Launched in 2007, Simply Green Biofuels has long been at the forefront of providing bio-based home-heating options to area residents and businesses. In the process they have kept millions of pounds of carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere.

Now, after partnering with Lamprey Energy in early January, Simply Green’s well-worn efforts have taken on another, equally important, form: giving back to the community.

Star Island Corporation, the Music Hall, Blue Ocean Society, Strawbery Banke, Angel Walk for Wishes, the Gundalow Company, North Hampton Public School – the list of Lamprey-Simply Green’s beneficiaries is a who’s-who of local non-profit organizations, historical societies, charitable initiatives, and environmental groups.

For Guy Marshall, President and Owner of Lamprey Energy and Simply Green, both companies’ commitment to community is inextricably linked with their local-business practices.

“One of the things we tell potential customers of both Simply Green and Lamprey is that we do know they have a choice: they can buy local and see their dollars stay put in the community or they can save a few cents and profit the big out-of-state companies,” says Marshall. “It’s like choosing between shopping downtown in Portsmouth, Exeter, Newmarket, or going to the big box stores at the mall. You can use Irving or Downeast but where’s your money going? How much of it is staying here?”

Perhaps nowhere is this confluence of community and business more pronounced than on Star Island. The second largest—and most visited—of New Hampshire’s Isles of Shoals, Star Island has spent the better part of the last two years making its handful of amenities more sustainable.

It’s a question asked by a growing sector of green-energy conscious consumers who want to use locally generated clean energy but can’t put a solar panel or array on their roof or in their backyard.

Andrew Kellar has started an innovative company that provides a distinctly New Hampshire answer to the question. Kellar is the founder of NhSolarGarden and he has high ambitions to transform the solar energy industry throughout the state. The plan is to create a decentralized and entrepreneurial approach that could have a dramatic multiplier impact on local economies, lead to greater land conservation and boost sustainable agriculture.

“The key to supporting a growing infrastructure and distributed solar generation across the state is to use the grid at a local level,” Kellar said.

NORTH BERWICK -- If traditional medicine doesn’t have you on the path back to wellness, why not try the alternative? Support for holistic medicine has been gaining traction across the country, and if you would like to look into it, you may have the perfect opportunity in the coming weeks.

From 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 8, Doughtry Falls Physical Therapy and Mainely You Massage will host the Holistic Healing Arts & Wellness Fair at 73 Elm St. in North Berwick. Don’t miss your chance to meet Green Alliance business partner Dr. Bri Duga of Great Works Chiropractic & Wellness, one of several featured practitioners in attendance.

“… Green means products that are good for the planet and safe for your home.”
— Vision Kitchens and Design on Green Specialties

PORTSMOUTH — Visions Kitchens and Design is a full-on kitchen design company specializing in cabinets, countertops, closet systems, and much more. Since its launch in 2010, sustainability has always been a main focus in its design processes.

Visions Kitchens works to make its products good for the planet and also as safe as possible for your home and family. Its counters and cabinets are made with renewable and salvaged/recycled materials. Bamboo is one of the popular and sustainable choices for floors, cabinetry, and counters. This material provides excellent strength and renewability.

Visions Kitchens has made strides to eliminate the use of any products that contain harmful chemicals. Most lumber, glue, and finishes it uses on products contain low VOC’s (Volatile Organic Compounds) and contain no added urea-formaldehyde.

Visions Kitchens has attained various LEED credits from projects and designs they have done. LEED is a popular eco-building rating system. Some of these credits include adhesives, paints and coatings that all contain low VOC levels, all cabinetry is manufactured within 500 miles of installation location, its wheat board is composed of plants harvested in a one-year or less growing cycle, and more.

If you become a new lifetime GA Sustaining Member through Tuesday, February 4th, you will get two complimentary lift tickets courtesy of Pat's Peak,New Hampshire Public Television and the Green Alliance. That's a value of $124, so it's like becoming a lifetime GA member for only $26!

The Green Alliance Sustaining Membership is the ultimate level of support for our local, green economy. For a low one-time fee, members receive lifetime discounts at over 115 green businesses and exclusive Sustaining Member opportunities! And you never have to worry about renewing your membership.

PORTSMOUTH—Bill’s Appliance Service helps make the world a little greener by repairing and recycling used appliances. Instead of throwing appliances away and allowing them to take up space in a landfill, Bill’s team makes them like new again. Sometimes the only thing an old refrigerator, microwave, or other appliance needs is a minor repair to have it up and running like new.

Bill’s Appliance Service also sells and installs these recycled products. From dryers to dishwashers, this business is so confident in its products, it offers a six-month parts and labor warranty. It carries all the top brands, including Bosch, Danby, DCS, Eurotech, Fisher & Paykel, Five Star, Frigidaire, General Electric, Thermador, Viking, Whirlpool, and more.

Recently Bill’s has expanded its inventory to include used furniture as well. Offering these high-quality used products benefits the environment and your wallet. Customers save money by buying used furniture as opposed to buying it new. They are also doing their part to reduce waste and their carbon footprint.

So, think twice before throwing out a seemingly broken appliance! A quick fix on a broken belt, switch, vent or thermostat may be the only thing your appliance needs to work perfectly again. Repairing these small issues and salvaging your appliances will save you money and give you peace of mind.

Did you know that every Green Alliance business undergoes a full transparent Sustainability Certification? We want to be sure that everyone knows what each business has accomplished and what they are still working toward when it comes to green business practices.The final part of the evaluation process is the Green Story! Check out Mirror Image Automotive's Green Story below.

Mirror Image aims to change industry

Every year, 5.2 million automobile accidents occur within the United States. That’s over 14,000 per day, just under 600 an hour, and about 10 every single second. Circumstances and severity might vary greatly from collision to collision, but one factor above all unites millions of drivers in collective annoyance: the hassle of having to deal with insurance companies.

How much can my insurance cover? Was I at fault? How will this affect rates going forward? Will the resulting repairs stand the test of time? Crucial questions all, with each entailing an almost comical propensity for seldom turning out in the customer’s favor.

When it comes to what can be a decidedly unfriendly insurance company calculus, Jason Battistelli, founder and owner of Mirror Image Automotive in Greenland, doesn’t pretend to possess a cure-all. What the 30-year-old has, however, is a unique knack for helping customers navigate the labyrinth of jargon and moving targets that can make dealing with insurance providers such a draining enterprise.

“Basically, insurance companies tend to focus on what the most cost effective repair is, and not always what the car manufacture recommend,” says Battistelli. “There is a lot of vague language in policies that kind of give the insurance company room to take advantage of the customer if they don’t do their homework.”

DEERFIELD – Fresh off a successful fundraising venture in 2013, Mary Doane has a new mission and it’s called Hope.

Hope, that is, who happens to be an adorable puppy in South Carolina that has overcome homelessness and almost deadly injuries to her pelvis and tail after a car hit her. “We were not going to turn our backs on this wonderful puppy,” said Doane, the owner of Mary’s Dogs Rescue and Adoption in Deerfield.

Doane is teaming up again with Ginny Turcotte of Forgotten Tails Animal Rescue in Manning, S.C.

“Hope was a little dog that Ginny saved,” Doane said. “Ginny got her the help she needed as she recovers. We plan to raise $2,000 to help pay for the veterinary costs for her extensive injuries. The monies raised on this fundraiser will go directly to her attending veterinarian’s practice to cover the cost of Hope's surgery.”

Provider Power, New England’s largest competitive electricity supply company, has entered the Massachusetts market offering significant savings to residential and small-business customers of National Grid, NSTAR and Unitil.

Provider Power Mass is part of the Provider Power family of companies, which includes Green Alliance Business Partner ENH Power in New Hampshire and Electricity Maine. Collectively the companies provide electricity to more than 200,000 residential and small-businesses customers in the two states.

“We are excited to come to Massachusetts to help both educate consumers that they can keep their utility, have a choice as to who supplies their power, and help them understand that with choice comes the opportunity to save on their power bill,” said Emile Clavet, co-owner of Provider Power.

As of January 1, 2014, National Grid customers who switch to Provider Power Mass will save an average of 15 percent, NSTAR and Unitil customers 10 percent (for a 6 month fixed contract) compared to the supply rates being offered by their utility.

“It’s clear that Massachusetts consumers are looking for an alternative to the higher supply rates being offered by their utility,” said Clavet. “What we also know is consumers aren’t looking for larger national companies to come to town. As a New England-owned company, we provide more than just competitive rates.”